Distributed Storage

South Australia’s virtual power plant has partnered with community housing provider, Unity Housing, to supply low cost energy to disadvantaged tenants, as part of its fourth phase to connect more than 7,500 households with clean energy.

A “nation first” local renewable energy zone will be established on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast as part of a pilot program designed to boost rooftop solar generation, store it and share it locally across the poles and wires infrastructure that already exists.

The Australian Energy Market Operator has eased forecasts of a looming capacity shortfall in Western Australia’s main electricity grid but has warned of the need for “substantial and sustained” investment in renewables to replace coal-fired power stations and meet surging demand from customers electrifying their operations.

Energy major AGL will invest $150 million for a 20% stake in smart energy platform Kaluza in a move the utility hopes will radically transform its retail operations and deliver significant savings.

The Clean Energy Council is calling for a unified national strategy to “supercharge” the uptake of consumer energy resources including rooftop solar and home batteries in Australia, saying such a move would deliver more than $22 billion in savings and 18,200 extra jobs by 2050.

A West Australian government virtual power plant technology pilot, Project Symphony, has successfully proven rooftop solar, batteries and major appliances can play an integral role in the state’s energy transition and create $920 million in value over the next decade.

An inert uptake of rooftop solar and battery storage by commercial and industrial business in New South Wales is a 7 GW opportunity missed, and nationally, 28 GW, says Nexa Advisory.

Queensland businesses can now apply for up to $10 million funding for large-scale recycling projects that tackle commercial and industrial waste and provide recovery solutions for renewable energy technologies, including end-of-life solar panels and batteries.

While most long-duration energy storage (LDES) technologies are still early stage and costly compared to lithium-ion batteries, some have already, or are, set to achieve lower costs for longer durations, finds BloombergNEF.

The federal government has been urged to pick up the pace after the Clean Energy Finance Corporation opened the purse strings on a $1 billion fund that is to support cheaper finance for rooftop solar, home batteries and other energy efficiency upgrades for Australian homes.